For the past few years, living in a van has been on the rise. Recent surveys estimate that there are over 100,000 people living in vans across the United States. A van isn’t just a way to travel, it’s a way of life! It’s all about freedom and flexibility—the freedom to live anywhere and the flexibility to change your location at any given moment.
What’s the best part about living in a van? There’s so much you can do with it! You can travel from city to city and explore new places, or you can find a spot in the woods and live off-grid for months at a time. You can head out for an adventure whenever you feel like it—all you have to do is fill up your gas tank!
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best apps for van life
5 Ultimate Camping Apps for a 2022 Vanlife Road Trip
As the Vanlife movement continues to boom in the US, robust Apps supporting #vanlife has surfaced. Being avid adventurers, we here at Native Campervans are constantly testing out the best camping Apps, and finding epic spots to camp out for a night.
Exploring in a Campervan allows you to camp in tent site locations no RV could ever dream of parking in. The beauty of vanlife is you get the camping experience – all the comradery of sitting around a fire pit, cooking in the outdoors, the magical landscape surrounding you, but sleeping comfortably inside your van.
But the big challenges. Where are these epic campsites? And how do you find them with the overwhelming amount of camping Apps to choose from. How do you know which ones to use?
Don’t fret, because as vanlife experts we’ve done all the trial and error testing for you. Here are our 5 Ultimate Camping Apps for a Vanlife Roadtrip (plus a couple of honorable mentions).

1. The Dyrt
Best For: Free, public and private campgrounds nationwide
Price: Free | Pro version – 30-day free with code: NAT30
Download: iOS and Android
The Dyrt is our favorite, go-to all-in-one resource app supporting #vanlife. Helping campers find the best campsites nationwide, with a repository of over 500,000 campgrounds. Book stays, read reviews, and peruse the extensive number of user-submitted photos and videos of most campgrounds.
The app is slick, easy to use, and has a host of filter options to choose from. Each campground page will provide icons highlighting what type of camper it accommodates, whether pets are allowed, toilets or showers on-site, dump-station locations, and much more. You’ll also get a breakdown of the local area, the top attractions to visit, favorite activities among travelers, and the expected weather for the upcoming week.
The Dyrt also runs monthly contests for campers who write the most useful reviews of campgrounds, shelling out merch from top outdoor brands. And if you want to take your campground search offline, signing up for The Dyrt Pro ($35) gives you access to downloadable offline maps as well as big discounts on campgrounds and gear.
As a bonus for renting with us, we’re giving you free access to 30 days of The Dyrt PRO. The Dyrt is the #1 camping app and largest campground directory with access to 1 million+ campsites, reviews, and tips. The Dyrt PRO gives you:
– Offline access to 44,000 campgrounds and maps (no cell reception needed)
– Discounts for campgrounds and gear
– Trip Planner for building the ultimate camping trip
– Map Layers to help you find free camping

2. Recreation.gov
Best For: Federal Campgrounds (National Parks, Forests, BLM)
Price: Free
Recation.gov is a popular camping app that lists only federal camping options. Ranging from National Parks to Forests, and other federal recreation sites, the app also provides a host of activities available around the campgrounds. From white water rafting to the best fishing spots, to required backcountry permits, Recreation.gov offers a host of outdoor adventures at over 3,600 federal sites.
Pay your National Park entry fee as well as book tickets and educational tours through the app, for places like Carlsbad Caverns and Joshua Tree National Park. The search interface is beautiful and easy to use, and you can book right through the app. Every campsite page has a list of facilities available, natural features, facility rates, Need-to-Knows and instructions on how to get to the campsite.
The only downside is there are no user-submitted reviews or pictures. However, this App is a great resource to have for vanlife itineraries focused on exploring National Parks and Forests. Best of all it is Free to download and use.

3. iOverlander
Best For: Largest world-wide campsite database, mechanics/hardware stores for a pinch
Price: Free
Download: iOS and Android
iOverlander is a critical lifeline for vanlifers, providing a crowd-sourced, simple map solution to everything you would need while on the road. From wild campsites to established campgrounds, and everything in between, iOverlander’s repository is robust and constantly updated by travelers contributing information.
Need a quick one-night stopover spot after a long day of driving? Check out the Wild Camping sites in your area. Not sure where in town you can dump your waste water? Head to the app and find your nearest dump station. Ran out of clean drinking water? No worries, check out all the local potable water spots around you.
One of the unique features of iOverlander is the addition of hardware stores, mechanics, and propane fill-up spots. Knowing where to find your closest mechanic is critical to getting back on the road in a pinch. And, you even see what the cellular coverage is at each campsite for the major telecom providers.

4. HipCamp
Best For: Glamping and unique paid campsite spots
Price: Free
Download: iOS and Android
Commonly referred to as the ‘AirBnB of camping’, HipCamp is the go-to app for finding one-of-a-kind paid private campsites. With a repository of over 300,000 listings, HipCamp is as comprehensive a resource as they come.
Every ‘host’ has a small bio and recommendation rating associated with them. There are reviews aplenty, detailed lists of what each site does and does not provide, where the campsites are located, and lists of the top activities on the hosts property. The interface is slick – very Airbnb-esque – with a host of filters you can use to drill down into such as; pet-friendly, restrooms/showers, and free wifi to name a few. Oh, and the community-sourced pictures are some of the best out there.
Want to live the life of a luxury vanlifer for the night, HipCamp is the app for you.

5. Freecampsites.net
Best For: Finding free one-night stopover spots
Price: Free
Download: iOS and Android
Not technically an app but Freecampsites.net is our GO-TO site for finding free camping areas around the US. Looking to explore the outdoors while keeping your wallet full? Freecampsite.net is a community driven repository where fellow vanlifers share free campsites they uncover all over the country.
Features of each campsite page include GPS coordinates and directions, info on who manages the land, best activities in the area, and a 5-day weather forecast. Followed up with a list of reviews and photos from previous campers.
The interface is vintage and clunky but simple to use. Just type in a specific location where you’d like to camp and you’ll see all the campsites in the area. Paid campsites do find their way onto the map, however all sites are color-coded so you can differentiate easily. The team behind Freecampsites.net are not interested in RV-friendly parking spots, so public lands are their forte.
best vanlife apps europe
A road trip in a camper van is probably one of the best ways to explore a country: You never need to pack and unpack your luggage, you can easily reach places which are off the beaten track and you can enjoy the ultimate freedom since you never need to book or reserve a hotel.
However, there are also challenges for road trippers. Not all of them but at least some challenges can be addressed with the right apps on your mobile device.
That’s what this article is about: It’s a list of the most useful apps for road trips in Europe.
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We usually take road trips to disconnect from the “modern-day buzz”,
but there are some apps that will make your life on the road really easy and stress-free.
Before we start here are some words about myself: I’m Oliver, a Swiss travel blogger. Over the last 5 years, I’ve been on a dozen multi-day road trips. Some in small cars, others in huge vans. In this guest post, I would like to share with you what I have learned from my road trips.
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Oliver went on a road trip with Stork campervan in April 2019 and loved it – despite the rainy weather.
- Find a place to sleep – park4night
Most countries in Europe don’t allow wild camping. The chance of getting caught is low but some countries impose an unpleasantly big fine. The good news is that you don’t need to take this risk. Many destinations offer a growing number of free parking spaces where campers can stay for a maximum of 24 hours. Some even provide fresh water, electricity, or allow you to empty your grey water tanks.
They can be located in unpleasant industrial areas, in locations with amazing views, or nearby to important attractions. The best way to find out about them is “park4night” (android / iOS), possibly the biggest and most popular camping app in Europe. The app does not only lead you to the parking spot but also tells you what amenities they offer and provides detailed ratings from other users.
The basic version is free but it requires an internet connection. For a small fee, you can download the pro version which also works offline. As mentioned before: There are many apps that do the same so look around if you don’t like this one.
Download for Android
Download for iOS
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Best app to find overnight spots – park4night.
Talking about camping: If you fancy proper camping grounds, I recommend you apply for an ASCI card. The camping card is not free but allows you to stay in selected places during the lower season with a discount of up to 60 percent. If you plan to stay more than three days on camping grounds, it’s worth buying it.
- Download an offline map – Maps.me
Admittedly, I found some of the most beautiful places on my road trips after I got completely lost. No doubt it’s fun to roam around without having to reach a specific destination, but there are also times when it is just troublesome to get lost. For example, if you have to return your camper on time or don’t want to miss a pre-booked tour or your flight back home.
For all these situations I recommend you install a good offline map service. Why does it need to be offline? The advantage is that you can download the map of a whole country before your departure. This means you don’t need to use potentially expensive data roaming once you hit the road. It’s also useful when you’re in remote areas with poor signals.
There are several apps on the market, so test them before your departure and see which one works the best for you. My personal favorite is “maps.me” (Android / iOS) which uses the highly reliable data from OpenStreetMaps (I like to think of it as the Wikipedia of maps). The app’s navigation is very similar to Google Maps and tells you how long it takes to reach your destination – but without draining your data plan.
Download for Android
Download for iOS
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Best app for offline maps – maps.me.
- Find a car park – ParkMe
Finding suitable parking spaces in big cities can be a nightmare. Having a proper parking app like “ParkMe” (Android / iOS) can save you a lot of hassle. This app helps you to find the nearest car park and its charges (hourly or daily), the expected occupancy, and sometimes the maximum height, which is useful if you’re driving a camper vehicle with an extended roof.
If you prefer to use street parking, the app also takes into account the likelihood of finding a parking space in the street you choose or in any street nearby. This helps you to decide which area of the city is worth trying. My favorite function, however, is a timer that reminds you when you have to refill the meter or move to the next parking place.
Download for Android
Download for iOS
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Best app for parking spots – ParkMe.
- Finding public toilet – Toilet Finder
In case your camper van does not have a proper toilet (or if you simply don’t feel comfortable using it), then you should install an app that helps you to find public toilets. I use an app called “toilet finder” and it has saved me already in a couple of emergencies.
This app has a database of more than 150.000 washrooms all over the world. The listed places are divided into categories like public toilets, petrol stations, or restaurants. Furthermore, the app informs you if there is a fee charged for its use and the level of cleanness.
Download for Android
Download for iOS
The best app to find toilets – Toilet Finder.
- Offline entertainment – Audible, Netflix, Spotify
On a perfect road trip, the scenery is amazing and you would never get bored from driving for a single second. Unfortunately, the reality is that the scenery can’t be perfect all of the time. You may have to follow an unexciting highway for hours or spend the night in the middle of nowhere with nothing left to do or there’s always a chance of neverending rain and bad weather.
That’s why I recommend preparing some apps to entertain you. My favorite thing during driving is to listen to audiobooks. I mean, what is more, beautiful than listening to an interesting story while you drive through a scenic area? I use “Audible” but depending on your native language there might be other/better options.
Another entertainment app which I love on road trips is “Netflix” (obviously not while driving). The biggest streaming provider now has a function that allows you to download movies and programs at home and watch them later offline. “Spotify” offers something similar for music.
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Rain and cold outside? Snuggle in, watch a movie, listen to music or audiobook.
- Finding good internet – Wifi Map
While it might be nice to opt for a digital detox for a couple of days, for many of us the internet is simply essential to our daily lives. It doesn’t matter if you have to send out some important work emails or if you just want to share your latest travel adventures with your friends back home.
Finding good internet can be tough on a camper trip. Hotspots apps help you to find the nearest Wi-Fi access points. Make sure you have the one that fits your needs because some just list open hotspots while others have a huge collection of passwords that were collected by thousands of other users.
My personal favorite is “Wifi Map” (Android / iOS). This App does not only list a large number of useable hotspots but also points out the direction to the nearest phone tower. So if you want to improve your connection by changing your location this helps you to find the right direction.
Download for Android
Download for iOS
Conclusion
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